One of the members of a one-hit-wonder band is gone:
Joe Pennell, a local musician who helped launch a local band to national fame in 1964, died Thursday at the age of 66.
Pennell was the lead guitarist for the Rivieras, a five-member South Bend garage band that struck music gold with their recording of “California Sun.”
The song's sharp, crisp guitar sounds were courtesy of Pennell, and helped the song become a national hit.
A South Bend band; I did not know that. But the guitar sound is sharp and crisp, and it's not bad as surfing songs go.
